


The Life and Times of Maro Iruma

by bevertown



Category: Danganronpa, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Gender Dysphoria, Internalized Misogyny, Internalized Transphobia, More tags to be added, Nonbinary Character(s), Starts During Chapter 2, Trans Female Character(s), author is transmasc, projection whats that, trans male character(s), trans miu iruma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:34:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26073514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bevertown/pseuds/bevertown
Summary: But her discomfort isn't with her gender, right? Yeah, she feels a little out of place being included with the girls in the Academy, but that's not because she isn't one of them! She's just not like other girls. That's all. And that's okay! Plenty of girls don't get along with each other. It's normal. Miu. Is. Normal.
Relationships: Miu Iruma & Kokichi Oma
Comments: 7
Kudos: 28





	1. Girls by MARINA

**Author's Note:**

> so i guess im a fic writer now. 
> 
> thanks to Scott (chemicataclysm) for the name Maro and the concept of a transgender Iruma in the first place.

Miu Iruma is a genius.

Of course she is; she's the Ultimate Inventor, the self-proclaimed "girl genius." She can make anything she wants with almost no effort at all. She's celebrated across the world for her work; she's smarter than 90% of the people here.

So why does it still feel like something's missing? And why can't she figure it out?

She's always been more comfortable with guys. In elementary school, she always just preferred them. Girls were always so fussy, airheaded, obsessed with their looks. Guys….were simpler. Never "Go away Iruma, we don't care about your new machine." or "There goes Iruma, one of the guys." Boys always gave her attention.

And as she got older, the nature of that attention….changed. She learned that she could use her body to get whatever she wanted.

But her discomfort isn't with her gender, right? Yeah, she feels a little out of place being included with the girls in the Academy, but that's not because she isn't one of them! She's just not like other girls. That's all. And that's okay! Plenty of girls don't get along with each other. It's normal. Miu. Is. Normal.

Okay, that’s enough inner monologuing. Miu comes back to reality, staring at her own reflection in the mirror.

Right, shower.

See, she's gonna take a shower right now! She's perfectly fine with seeing her naked body. No dysphoria at all! When she looks in the mirror, she understands why guys think she's so hot.

Miu chides herself. Thinking about something as trivial as gender? In this situation? She should be more worried about her own survival. Gotta stay on your toes. Make sure no one catches you off guard. Kaede just died! One of the few people here who took an interest in her.

One of the few  _ girls _ who took an interest in her. Ever. 

Not that it matters now.

When she gets out of the shower, she tries her best to go to sleep.

\--

If she has dreams, she doesn’t remember them.

After breakfast, Gonta talks about some letters he found on a rock. “Horse a”. Too soon to tell what that’s about. 

Kokichi fucks everything up, as usual, by insinuating Gonta could be killed because he’s too gullible. The gears--no pun intended--in Miu’s head start turning. If she ever needed an out…

But no. She couldn’t do something like that. Besides, Gonta seemed to like her. She could use that to her advantage, if it came down to it.

Then there’s Kokichi. Miu, as previously established, is not stupid--she can tell he knows more than he lets on. The others are just too stupid to pick up on it. They’re like cattle. Bumbling about, getting picked off one by one for the slaughter. Miu and Kokichi are clearly superior to everyone else in the killing game, intellectually at least. But Kokichi’s such an asshole to Keebo, it’s hard to like him. Miu doesn’t think she would ever be able to work with him, let alone be friends.

Miu gets so invested in her internal monologue she hardly notices when the bear himself shows up. Then those annoying ass cubs show up too, and she desperately tries to slip back into internal monologue mode. Why are those little shits even here? They just feel like a waste of time. Everything they say and do is pointless, and they’re not even entertaining like their pops. Maybe the apple does fall far from the tree…..

Wait, a reward? Miu likes rewards.

Oh. It’s just some random crap. Of course it is. She doesn’t know why she expected anything different.

Tsumugi says some bullshit about trying them around campus. Maybe they unlock shit, like a video game….? Well, this is a game, in a way. Kaito sticks Shuichi with being the trier outer. The garbage Monokuma’s vermin spawn gave them all unlock more Ultimate Research Labs: Himiko’s, Kirumi’s, Gonta’s, Ryoma’s, and Maki’s. Maki doesn’t let anybody into hers. She’s just making herself look even more suspicious. Miu decides to check out Ryoma’s. That kid’s like three feet tall and has a deeper voice than all the guys here. And he looks like a fucking cat. Not a cute cat either, more like a starved alley cat that keeps getting into fights. What’s his deal?

Shuichi comes into the lab. Go time.

Shuichi asks Ryoma about his lab, and Ryoma tells him he’s not playing tennis anymore.

“Tennis? Who the hell plays a hoity-toity sport like tennis?” Miu asks him. In her experience, tennis is only played by rich people at country clubs who think they’re better than you. Obviously they’re not, playing such a brainless sport. Tennis has, like, no strategy to it. What’s the fun in that? Besides, isn't the net taller than Ryoma? How could he even play?

Ryoma says nothing.

“Ohhhh, that’s right. I totally forgot. You’re a tennis player, aren’tcha?” Obviously Miu didn’t forget. And she knows he just said he’s not playing tennis anymore. It’s just fun to push these idiots’ buttons.

“It’s fine if you forget. That was a long time ago,” Ryoma says with an air of an old man recalling his youth. Boring!

Miu tries to push the conversation in a more interesting direction. “So when you killed a mafia boss with your badass tennis skills, was that a long time ago too!?”

“H-hey! Come on, Miu…” Shuichi tries to defend Ryoma. Miu doesn’t know why he would bother. If Ryoma had the balls to kill someone, he should be able to talk about it.

“What? It really happened, yeah?” It would probably be best to keep an eye on any seasoned killers here.

“Yeah...it’s true.” Ryoma confesses. And bam, straight onto Miu’s watchlist. “Thanks to that...even if I escape from here, I’ll just go straight to a different prison.” Ryoma stares wistfully at the tennis court. “Hmph...so it’d be meaningless for someone like me to play tennis now…”

Ryoma? A “seasoned killer”? Yeah right. 

“Are you a little bitch!? Cuz you’re actin’ like a little bitch right now!"

Shuichi just stares at her, mouth agape. 

“Wh-what’s with the staredown? You’re...scaring me…” Not really. Miu doubts Shuichi could do any actual damage….physically, at least.

Now that Ryoma’s secret’s out, Miu takes a look at the automated racquet machine. Yeah, she could probably mod it and add it to her sex dungeon….

Research lab. She meant research lab.

Shuichi takes a look at the shower room. “A shower room! Why don’t you boys go in and give each other a good scrubdown!? You’re already the perfect height, Ryoma! You’ll be lined up juuuuust right when you turn around to face Shuichi!” Honestly, Miu isn’t that into the idea of Ryoma fucking anyone. But it’s fun to tease.

Ryoma looks at Miu like she’ll be his next victim. Damn, tough crowd.

“I-I was just kidding...I-I thought you’d laugh…” 

Shuichi leaves, and Ryoma is still staring at her. Time to move on.


	2. Pool Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miu learns more about the people around her.

Wandering around the school is one of the few things Miu can do at this point. Sure, she could always fuck around in her lab, but sometimes you just need to...go, y’know? Not that there’s anywhere to go, but walking still feels good. 

Eventually, her legs take her to the pool. Huh, that’s new. Swimming sounds pretty relaxing, actually. When she goes inside, the pool is only filled up about halfway.

“Well this is the most disappointing pool I’ve ever seen! Who the hell is able to swim in two feet of water!?” That midget Hoshi, probably.

Six pairs of eyes lock on Miu, and she suddenly feels unwelcome. Well, more unwelcome than usual, anyway. Kirumi, Tenko, Angie, Himiko, Shuichi, and Kiibo are staring at her.

“What, did I walk in on somethin’ here?” Miu’s face lights up in mock excitement. “Are you guys having an orgy in here!? And you didn’t invite meeeee?” She pouts, completely exaggerating her facial expressions. She doesn’t even care if they can tell it’s fake. Sometimes, it’s just fun to be dramatic.

“What the hell, Iruma? This is a private party! I don’t care that you’re a girl, you’re not invited! Leave, immediately!!!!” Tenko immediately starts tearing into Miu. 

Miu laughs. “How the hell are you gonna have a ‘private party’ with the door unlocked?”

Just then, a familiar voice is heard from the other side of the door. “What’s with all this yelling? Is there a fight going on? I wanna watch!”

“Oh no, Kokichi!” Kiibo looks panicked.

“Go away, Kokichi!” Tenko yells when he opens the door. “This is a girls party.”

“Well, thanks for gendering me correctly,” Kokichi says. “But then why is Shuichi here?”

“And Kiibo?” Miu adds.

“Kiibo’s a robot,” Tenko smugly replies. “And Saihara’s our towel boy.”

“Ohh, I get it!” Kokichi lights up, in a way Miu knows means he’s about to say some asshole shit. “Kiibo isn’t human, so he’s exempt from gender.”

“I wouldn’t exactly put it like that,” Kiibo tries to defend himself, “It’s more like...I don’t really care about gender?”

Not caring about gender. That was an option? Miu didn’t think that was her case though. She thought about gender way too much to not care about it.

“A-anyway,” Miu says, hoping that stutter was small enough no one else heard it, “why aren’t you guys swimming? This is a pool party after all!”

Kokichi looks at Miu like she’s the dumbest person alive. The two of them may not be friends, but it still hurt Miu for the one person on the same intellectual plane as her to look at her like that.

Angie starts giggling. Shuichi looks even more uncomfortable than he already did. Tenko’s eyes widen and the corners of Kokichi’s mouth upturn into a sneer. They all look at each other like they’re trying to decide how to explain the joke.

Finally, Tenko says something. “Um, Miu, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but...we’re all kind of, um, transgender?”

Oh. OH. Kokichi, Shuichi, Angie, Tenko...why had she not noticed before?

For a genius, Miu could be pretty dumb sometimes.

“Kirumi and I are cis, but it’s against the school rules to touch the water anyways,” Himiko grumbles.

“I wouldn’t dare dream of swimming while there are guests to attend to,” Kirumi says, composed as ever.

“Against the rules to touch the water? Then what’s the point of having a pool…” Miu wonders aloud.

“Our headmaster is a bear,” Kokichi says. “Do you think anything at this school makes sense?”

\--

That night, Angie tells Miu to report to the gymnasium. Like this is a normal school, and they're having a fuckin assembly. Miu doesn't like the idea of Angie--that weirdo--telling her what to do, but it seems like everyone else is gathered there too.

In the gym, they find out a little bit more about what’s really going on with their….situation. Angie found some shit called a flashback light. Monokuma claims that it should be able to restore their lost memories. Ryoma, the little shit, asks Miu if it’ll really work.

“You’re all a bunch of Ultimate Dumbasses! No fuckin’ way that thing can treat amnesia! Then again...these aren’t exactly normal circumstances...”

They talk it over for a while, then finally decide to use it. When they do, they are all given a memory--of running. Apparently, there was some group called the Ultimate Hunt that was chasing people with talent--Ultimates. So everyone here gave up their talent to live a normal life...to be safe...but if that was true, why were they here now? And why do they know about their talents? Is the Academy supposed to be a safe haven? If that was the case, why are they being forced to kill each other? Whoever was behind the Hunt was probably behind the Academy, too, right? The same person would still want them all dead….

The group talks about working together to escape, and Kokichi brings up the idea of a mastermind again. Miu still isn’t sure if there really is one or not, but in any case, they had all agreed to drop the subject. So why is he still talking about it?

After Kaito threatens to slug Kokichi, he runs away. Kirumi makes dinner for everyone, and then they return to their rooms.

Once Miu closes the door to her room, she sighs. She’s really starting to hate being alone. It’s not like she has any friends here, but...people are still people. It’s nice to have some sort of company, to distract her. Distract her from the killing game, distract her from her...other problems. 

She keeps thinking about what happened earlier at the pool. That many trans people here….of course she’d be accepted. If she was trans. Which she’s not! Right?

She considers going to her lab. She knows she’ll be alone there too, and she’ll probably be safer if she stays in her room, locked in. But at least in her lab, she’ll have something to focus on other than sit around and worry.

The next thing she knows it’s 2 AM. Probably best to get some sleep. She heads back to her room, and when she gets there she notices a tablet on the table. That wasn’t there before.

Shit, do the locks even work at all? This is definitely _not_ helping to make her feel at ease here.

Despite her sleepiness, she turns the tablet on. It immediately begins playing a video.

_Alright! Back by popular demand, it’s time for the motive video! Who’s the most important person in your life? And now, without further ado…_

_Angie Yonaga, the Ultimate Artist!_

_She grew up on a remote island in the middle of the ocean! At first just an ordinary artist, Angie began receiving the god Atua’s wishes telepathically! It’s no wonder she ended up at this school for gifted youngsters! Puhuhu…_

_Anyway, Angie shared the wishes of her god with the people of her island, and improved the lives of its people! They heralded her as a prophet...but don’t just take it from me! Let’s hear what they have to say!_

Two people appear on the screen, a boy and a girl. They’re similar in appearance to Angie, except they have dark hair and dark eyes. The girl looks young, and the boy even younger.

The girl speaks first. “Please, oh great speaker, please come back to us! We’re lost without Atua...we need him!”

“I’m scared…” says the boy.

The girl puts a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You have to stay alive! You have to get out!”

Monokuma’s voice returns. _Well, weren’t those two cute! It just so happens, after this video was recorded a meteor hit their precious island! Did they survive? Well, you’ll have to escape to find out! Puhuhuhu!_

The video shuts off. Miu feels something for Angie...sympathy? Pity? Whatever it is, Miu still doesn’t believe all that Atua crap. 

But more importantly, why did Miu get this video and not her own? As she tries to figure it out, she passes out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is turning into me giving certain characters more development and also fixing writing that is bad, heh.


	3. The Secret Iruma Technique

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miu has a run in with someone unexpected.

At breakfast, it turns out everyone got the wrong videos. Miu wants to exchange them, but Kiibo points out that if they do, everyone will have a reason to kill. She understands his line of thinking, but it’s still disappointing. She wants to know who’s on that video, dammit!

Kokichi’s saying that if they work together, Monokuma’s just going to fuck with them more. If they become friends, the bear will try his hardest to break it up. So they might as well exchange their videos. Every man for himself. Whatever it takes for the game to end.

Kokichi leaves with Gonta, saying something about figuring out a way to get everyone to exchange their motive videos. Slowly, people start pouring out of the dining hall, Miu included. Because she didn’t get that much sleep last night, a nap is in order.

\--

When she wakes up, she’s hungry, having skipped out on breakfast that morning. She looks around for Kirumi, cuz having the maid make her food is a lot less effort than making something herself. The results will be better, too.

Miu finds Kirumi in her lab. She’s...doing everyone’s laundry? Hey, where’s Miu’s laundry!

“I would be happy to prepare you a meal,” Kirumi tells her. “But because of my large workload, I won’t be able to finish it until an hour from now. My apologies.”

An hour?! No way could she wait that long. Begrudgingly, Miu leaves the Ultimate Maid’s lab to see what snacks she has stockpiled in her own lab.

Instant ramen, instant ramen, and...instant ramen. Wow. She didn’t realize she’d burned through all her other stuff so quickly. Better make another trip to the storage warehouse soon.

She makes the trek across the courtyard to the dining hall. Thank god, no one’s in here. She’s not in the mood to deal with any of the other bastards yet today. Or...again, she guesses. Miu pops her ramen into the microwave and fidgets with her belts while she waits for her food to be ready.

It’s amazing how much longer three minutes feels on a microwave. Seriously, did she set the time right? As she’s checking it, she hears the door to the dining hall open and close.

“Perfect, the hall is empty.” Kiyo’s voice carries from the dining area, not seeing Miu yet in the kitchen.

God fucking dammit. Of all the people to show up here, it had to be that weirdo, didn’t it? Seriously, the vibes of that guy gave Miu the creeps.

Kiyo’s eyebrows furrow when he steps into the kitchen. “Oh. Not so empty after all.”

“I was...just leaving actually!” Miu blurts without thinking.

“Really? You were going to exit, while the microwave is still cooking your food?”

Shit. Of course the microwave was still going! “Uh y-yeah, I call it the secret Iruma technique! You cook your food in the microwave, let it sit for half an hour, and come back! It turns out perfectly.” She hopes Kiyo will be gone in half an hour.

Kiyo eyes her suspiciously. “What if someone else needs to use the microwave?”

“Hah! No way that could happen, I rigged this bad boy up. Anyone opens the microwave before the half hour’s up, INSTANT DEATH!” She’s bluffing of course. But she hopes Kiyo--or anyone else who comes in the kitchen within the next half hour, for that matter--is too afraid to actually open the microwave.

“Kehehe...how foolish. Revealing your murder plot to me so easily? I could warn the others.”

“Would you really?” Miu glances at the microwave, desperately trying to find an out. She really doesn’t like being alone with Kiyo, especially for this long. “You know, I really should be leaving! The Iruma technique doesn’t work if I don’t actually leave the room.” Without even giving Kiyo a chance to respond, she rushes out of the dining hall.

\--

After half an hour of standing around in the courtyard, Miu cautiously approaches the dining hall. Her ramen was probably disgusting by now, and she was getting hungrier by the minute. Entering the dining hall, she is pleased to see that it is empty. She sets the microwave for another minute, hoping that’ll rejuvenate her noodles. Thankfully, the minute passes uneventfully, and the inventor is able to return to her lab to eat in peace.

\--

The day after the ramen incident, Angie brainwashes Himiko into believing in Atua. What, is she starting a cult or somethin’? Oh well, Himiko was useless anyway...not much of a loss.

Himiko announces she’s having a magic show the next morning. Miu adds that to her list of things she’s definitely not going to.

The two of them leave, and the remaining students worry about the possibility of Kokichi, Gonta and Ryoma showing each other their motive videos. Then, Kirumi makes breakfast for everyone, and Miu doesn’t skip out this time.

\--

That night, Gonta goes to Miu’s room and asks her to go to an…”Insect Meet and Greet”. Well, less “ask”, and more like he tries to kidnap her to force her to go. He manages to take her to the courtyard when she employs her first line of defense: a woman’s secret weapon. To put it plainly, she strips down to her underwear. Gonta, too much of a gentleman to want to touch a naked woman, runs away. 

Miu lets out a sigh of relief. She’s in her underwear, but she’s not uncomfortable. Actually, she’s hoping that someone’ll see her, and appreciate her full beauty. She decides to inconspicuously walk the courtyard for a bit. Put the goods on display.

See, there’s absolutely no way she’s trans. She’s almost completely naked out in the open, where everyone can see! And she’s not uncomfortable at all! But then her mind drifts to Angie, who’s transgender but perfectly comfortable showing skin…

What if Miu’s lying to herself?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a short one here. Shit’s getting serious next chapter.


End file.
